Do I need a policy?

Why do I need a drug and alcohol policy?

Drugs and alcohol can have a truly damaging effect on the workplace, affecting not only ‘safety critical’ jobs that need a high level of alertness to stay safe, but even ‘business critical’ roles where the consequences of a lapse of focus can have expensive ramifications

Fallout from ‘the morning after’ effect can be catastrophic and our recent white paper showed at least 1 in 30 UK employees has drugs in their system at any point in time (which equates to nearly 1 million people across the UK workforce).

Statistics show that there is a £6.4bn annual loss to UK commerce caused by alcohol alone:

  • Around 200,000 people turn up at work every day with a hangover
  • Up to 17 million sick days are taken each year in the UK because of alcohol
  • Men drinking more than 14 units a week are 20% more likely to be absent from work because of injury
 
 

Despite this, over 1 in 5 businesses we surveyed, said they did not have or did not know if they had a drugs and alcohol policy in place. However, drugs and alcohol are not just a problem for employers and the economy; they can also lead to social, psychological and medical problems for your employees, including dependence.

The benefits of having a robust drug and alcohol policy are numerous and include:

  • Helping to safeguard the health, safety and welfare of employees and the public
  • Improving working relationships, attendance and productivity
  • Clearly communicating company expectations
  • Actively executing your duty of care
  • Protecting your company reputation
  • Safeguarding against financial risksAdvising employees how they can identify issues and get help
  • Supporting employees during recovery and helping them get back to